Psychology of Athletic Performance

Question 1

Ideal Performance State

Answer 1

Marked by psychological and physiological efficiency (ie using only the amount of psychic and physical energy required to perform the task)

Question 2

Athlete

Answer 2

Someone who engages in a social comparison (competition) involving a psycho-motor skill or physical prowess (or both) in an institutionalized setting, typically under public scrutiny or evaluation

Question 3

Sport Psychology

Answer 3

The subdiscipline of exercise science that seeks to understand the influence of behavioral processes on skilled movement.

Question 4

Sport Medicine

Answer 4

Exercise science (including sport psychology), physical therapy, orthopedics, cardiology, and other medical disciplines as they apply to athletes.

Question 5

Goals of Sport Psychology

Answer 5

1. Measuring psychological phenomena
2. Investigating the relationships between psychological variables and performance
3. Applying theoretical knowledge to improve athletic performance

Question 6

Anxiety (State Anxiety)

Answer 6

A subjective experience of apprehension and uncertainty accompanied by elevated autonomic and voluntary neural outflow and increased endocrine activity.
State anxiety is the actual experience of apprehension and uncontrolled arousal.

Question 7

Anxiety (Trait Anxiety)

Answer 7

A personality variable or disposition relating to the probability that one will perceive an environment as threatening.
Trait anxiety is a personality characteristic which represents a latent disposition to perceive situations as threatening.

Question 8

Arousal

Answer 8

The intensity dimension of behavior and physiology. Range of arousal: from deep sleep/comatose to highly excited

Question 9

Factors leading to anxious state of arousal

Answer 9

1. A high degree of ego involvement, in which the athlete may perceive a threat to self-esteem
2. A perceived discrepancy between one’s ability and the demands for athletic success
3. A fear of the consequences of failure (such as a loss of approval from teammates, coach, family, peers)

Question 10

Cognitive anxiety

Answer 10

A psychological state involving task-irrelevant mental processes that are negative in nature, flood attention, and can deter performance proportionally (esp activities requiring high amounts of information processing). That is, the more the athlete experiences cognitive anxiety, the worse the performance, especially when performance depends on complex decision making.

Question 11

Somatic anxiety

Answer 11

Relatively uncontrolled physiological arousal, which is influenced by cognitive anxiety. shows an inverted - U relationship to sport performance unless accompanied by significant congnitive anxiety, which causes a sharp decline in performance (ie catastrophe theory)

Question 12

Stress

Answer 12

Any disruption from homeostasis or mental and physical calm.

Question 13

Stressor

Answer 13

An environmental or cognitive event that precipitates stress (ie the stress response)

Question 14

Distress

Answer 14

A negative stressed state.

Comprises cognitive and somatic anxiety

Question 15

Eustress

Answer 15

A positive stressed state.

Comprises psychic energy and physiological arousal

Question 16

Psychic arousal or energy

Answer 16

A continuum of psychological intensity that is not manifested as apprehension and uncertainty, but rather as a sense of activation and focus. It is usually positively related to sport performance unless complex decision-making tasks are involved that require lower levels of psychological arousal.

Question 17

Physiological arousal

Answer 17

A psychological neural intensity dimension of physical arousal. Extreme levels aid activities requiring heightened energy metabolism, especially those relying primarily on the ATP-creatine phosphate and glycolytic pathways. Carefully regulated arousal facilitates endurance and predominantly aerobic activitiy.

Question 18

Attention

Answer 18

The ability to focus

Question 19

Selective Attention

Answer 19

The ability to inhibit awareness of some stimuli in order to process others
Level of focus and suppression of task-irrevelant stimuli

Question 20

Preparatory Routine

Answer 20

A ritual or mental checklist that consciously directs thoughts to task-relevant and controllable concerns

Question 21

Cue Utilization Theory

Answer 21

Optimal performance region without under- or over-inclusion of task-relevant and task-irrevelant cues, respectively.

Question 22

Attentional Style (by Nideffer)

Answer 22

Instrument to measure attention: Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style (TAIS)
2 dimensions: 1. Internal-External; 2. Broad-Narrow

Question 23

Attentional Styles: Broad External Attentional Focus

Answer 23

Ability to effectively manage many environmental stimuli simultaneously

Question 24

Attentional Style: Overloaded by External Stimuli

Answer 24

Tendency to be confused because of the intake of too many stimuli

Question 25

Attentional Style: Broad Internal Attentional Focus

Answer 25

Ability to effectively manage many internal stimuli (autonomic responses, covert thoughts, etc)

Question 26

Attentional Style: Overloaded by Internal Stimuli

Answer 26

Tendency to be confused because of the intake of too many stimuli

Question 27

Attentional Style: Narrow Attentional Focus

Answer 27

Ability to effectively narrow attention

Question 28

Attentional Style: Reduced Attentional Focus

Answer 28

Tendency to reduce attention so that task-relevant information is lost

Question 29

Ideal Performance State: Common Characteristics

Answer 29

• Absence of fear; no fear of failure
• No thinking about or analysis of performance (related to the motor stage of automaticity)
• A narrow focus of attention concentrated on the activity itself
• A sense of effortlessness; an involuntary experience
• A sense of personal control
• A distortion of time and space, in which time seems to slow down

Question 30

Classic Notion of Motor Skill Learning (Fitts and Posner)

Answer 30

Stage 1: Cognitive stage is characterized by effortful and conscious regulation of the movement.
Stage 2: Associative stage- the athlete must focus on the task but is less concerned with the details of the movement.
Stage 3: Stage of automaticity- mind is relaxed and skill is executed automatically without thinking

Question 31

Ideal Performance State

Answer 31

Characterized by a “quiet mind” that results in less cortical interference with the (subcortical) motor control centers and in consistent and efficient execution of motor performance.

Question 32

Mental-Psychological Efficiency

Answer 32

An attentional allocation or shift in allocation to process only the cues and cognitive activity that relate to the athletic performance

Question 33

Intrinsic Motivation

Answer 33

A desire to be competent and self-determining

The athlete is a “self-starter”

Question 34

Achievement Motivation

Answer 34

A desire to engage in competition, or social comparison

Motive to Achieve Success (MAS) vs. Motive to Avoid Failure (MAF)